President Rodrigo Duterte will ask Congress to give tax relief to oxygen manufacturers in the country, saying oxygen is a vital component in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019.
In his weekly public address on Monday, Duterte said there was the need to secure ample supply of medical oxygen at this time.
“If it really goes out of control, we would need all the oxygen that they can produce for the people. We need it,” the President said, recalling that during the first wave of COVID-19, oxygen supply was scarce, and producers hardly kept up with the excessive demand of hospitals nationwide.
The chief executive asserted that there should be easy licensing and tax incentives for local oxygen suppliers and manufacturers to meet the need of the growing number of COVID-19 patients.
“So, for those who are producing it, give them a license if appropriate. If everything is in order, give it right away,” the President said.
Duterte praised the country’s producers of medical oxygen, noting that despite the ongoing health emergency, they have kept up the production of the much-needed medical commodity.
Meanwhile, Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo assured the public that the government was doing the necessary preparations in order for the Philippines to avoid experiencing the predicament of other countries fiercely battling the spread of COVID-19 Delta variant.
Domingo said that the FDA gave licenses to 30 medical oxygen manufacturers, adding that currently, there are 81 licensed manufacturers of the medical product all over the country.
The FDA chief also said they did not see any shortage in supply at this time.
Oxygen tanks
The government is now considering regulating the sale of oxygen tanks due to the possible surge of COVID-19 cases due to the more transmissible Delta variant, the Department of Health said Tuesday.
DOH spokesperson and Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in an interview on Unang Balita, said this was discussed during a meeting on Monday.
Vergeire said this would ensure that only those in need of oxygen tanks would be able to buy them.
Vergeire said the DOH and the Department of Trade and Industry were already talking with manufacturers of oxygen tanks to ramp up production in case of a surge in demand.
The World Health Organization had earlier urged the Philippines to increase oxygen supplies needed to treat COVID-19.
ECQ extension
The enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed in the National Capital Region may be extended due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the DOH said.
This will still be discussed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), said.
“There is always that possibility because based on our projections, even if we have two weeks of ECQ, the number of COVID-19 cases will continue to rise,” Vergeire said in an interview on Unang Balita.
Metro Manila was placed under ECQ from August 6 to 20 in light of the threat posed by the Delta coronavirus variant.
The OCTA Research Group on Sunday said the reproduction rate, or the rate at which an infected individual can pass on the virus to others, in the NCR went up to 1.80 from 1.56 a week ago.
COVID updates
The Philippines logged on Tuesday 8,560 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the total to 1,676,156, as all laboratories were operational, while 13 laboratories were not able to submit their data on time, the Department of Health reported.
Based on data in the last 14 days, the 13 non-reporting labs contribute, on average, 2.8 percent of samples tested and 2.8 percent of positive individuals.
The DOH also reported 92 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 29,220.
The DOH also reported 7,964 persons who recently recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 1,567,920.
The DOH also reported 79,016 active cases, of which 94.4 percent were mild, 1.7 percent were asymptomatic, 1 percent were critical, 1.7 percent were severe, and 1.18 percent were moderate.
Infections climb
The Philippine COVID-19 referral system said it was receiving about triple the number of calls for help compared to July, as coronavirus infections continue to spike.
The One Hospital Command Center is now receiving 350 to 370 calls in a day from the last week of July to early August—up from 98 to 105 calls about 2 weeks ago, said referral system chief Health Undersecretary Leopold Vega.
The center tallied its highest number of calls in a day at 472 two days ago, said Vega, who is also the country’s COVID-19 treatment “czar”. Metro Manila’s 7-day average for COVID-19 was at around 600 some 2 weeks ago. The figure is now at over 2,000, Vega said.
Nurses’ performance
The nurses’ performance is “compromised” as they are forced to handle about a dozen patients at a time amid a fresh increase in COVID-19 cases, the Filipino Nurses United said.
FNU Secretary General Jocelyn Andamo, in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, said: “The plight of nurses is pitiful and saddening.”
The FNU said there are not enough health workers to match the increase in hospital bed capacity.
Andamo also said many nurses still have not received their benefits from the Bayanihan 2 law, which expired on June 30 this year.
The Department of Health earlier said it continued to hire more health workers amid the increase in COVID-19 cases.
The DOH also said it would recompute the number of health worker augmentation needed by hospitals to account for the highly contagious Delta variant.
Don’t do it
The DOH has reminded hospitals not to admit asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 patients in order to avoid congestion and make room for severe and critical cases.
Vergeire, in an interview on Unang Balita, said asymptomatic and mild cases should instead be accommodated in Level 1 health care facilities or temporary treatment and monitoring facilities.
During the spike in cases in March this year, the DOH cited nearly 50 percent of hospital admissions at the time were asymptomatic or mild cases.
Vergeire said the DOH has coordinated with the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, which earlier hit full capacity due to an increase in COVID-19 and leptospirosis cases.